BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Covestro AG (CVVTF.PK, COVTY.PK) said it raised its forecast for EBITDA, free operating cash flow and return on capital employed for fiscal year 2021 as a result of a better than previously expected business development.
The company raised its annual EBITDA outlook to a range of 2.20 billion euros - 2.70 billion euros from the prior outlook of 1.70 billion euros - 2.20 billion euros, citing a better than expected margin development in the first half of the year. The consensus expects this figure to be 2.206 billion euros.
Annual core volume growth is still expected to be between 10% and 15%, of which around 6 percentage points are attributable to the acquisition of the Resins & Functional Materials (RFM) business.
The company now projects annual free operating cash flow to be between 1.30 billion euros and 1.80 billion euros compared to the previous forecast of 900 million euros - 1.400 billion euros. The consensus expects this figure to be 1.037 billion euros.
Annual Return on capital employed (ROCE) is expected to be between 12% and 17%. The previous forecast projected ROCE between 7% and 12%.
Covestro reported a preliminary EBITDA of 743 million euros in the first-quarter of 2021.
The company expects EBITDA to be between 730 million euros and 870 million euros for the second-quarter of 2021.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX